Who’s the Main Character in TITANIC?
Blog reader “Twilight” asked the following question:
“I must ask something here about who is the main character in Titanic. All the time I though it was Rose, because she is the character who drives the story, or?
I also think I have read from others like Michael Haug that Rose is the Main Character.
So please tell me how you think.”
This has been a topic of some discussion for me for several years. I used to believe that Jack was the main character based on certain principles, but I’ve heard people argue (effectively) that Rose is the main character. It’s fascinating to me that it’s even a question in my mind. I’ll outline the principles I use to help determine main character so you can see why this is the question for me that it is:
Principle #1 – The final battle of every good story is always “The Good Guy vs the Bad Guy over the Stakes.” In TITANIC it’s Jack and Cal over Rose, meaning Jack’s the main character. THE WINNER — JACK.
Principle #2 – The main character is the one who changes the most from the start of the film to the end. Jack appears to change the most; he goes from a loveless drifter to committed boyfriend to dead, which is a pretty big change. However, Rose also changes from someone trapped in her life and stifled to liberated. THE WINNER — A TIE.
Principle #3 – The main character is exactly like the main opponent, but with a moral center. The antagonist is who the protagonist IS IN DANGER OF BECOMING if he or she loses that moral center. And often, the antagonist is doing EXACTLY what the protagonist WISHES in their darkest of hearts he or she could do but doesn’t because of that moral center. In DIE HARD, John Maclean’s dark wish would be to kill his wife’s boss, take her by force, and blow up her office building…which is exactly what Hans Gruber is doing. In RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, Indiana Jones is so much like the bad archeologist Belloq that even Belloq calls him on it. Is Batman really THAT different than the Joker?
In TITANIC, if Cal is our antagonist, who is like him but with a moral center? Rose is like him in status, but Jack is like him in desire. He wants Rose and is as committed to being with her as Cal is, however Jack is moral and Cal isn’t. Could Jack ever become like Cal if he loses his moral center? The scene where both he and Cal stand together after convincing Rose to get on the lifeboat sticks in my mind because Jack is just as guilty of being protective of her as Cal is, neither taking into account HER feelings. Could Rose become like Cal if she loses her moral center? No, because she’s ready to kill herself before that can happen. THE WINNER — JACK.
Principle #4 – The main character drives the action. Jack and Rose take turns driving the action. It’s his decision to save her life when she’s ready to commit suicide. It’s her decision to be sketched in the nude. It’s her decision to get off TITANIC in New York with him. It’s his decision to martyr himself. Still, she makes some of the most major plot decisions. THE WINNER — ROSE, BY A HAIR.
Principle #5 - The main character usually gets the biggest martyr moment at the end. While Rose gives up a life of leisure, she doesn’t give up her life as Jack does. THE WINNER — JACK.
So, who’s the main character? To be honest, I’m still not sure that it’s clear in my mind. Empirically it seems that the evidence points to Jack more strongly than it does to Rose, yet…
Is it possible that Rose is the main character and Jack is the ‘traveling angel’ who changes her life? Is it possible that Jack is the main character and Rose is the innocent who needs rescuing? Is it possible that they’re both the main character?
Even with all I’ve written and all I know I’m not sure of the answer, and that intrigues me. Some very smart people say that Rose is the main character. They might be right. My head says Jack, but my heart says Rose.
The real question is ‘what can we, as writers, learn from this?’
TITANIC was a cultural phenomenon. It was the right movie, at the right time and was a stunning ode to the art of movie making. What hardly anyone thinks is that it was a well-written script. In fact, many of the reviews were scathing about the writing. Of course, success is the best revenge so nobody should feel too badly for Mr. Cameron. But is it also possible that the lack of clear focus on the main character is a failing and not a virtue? Is it conceivable that the movie could have been even better with more clarity on the main character?
To me, the biggest takeaway from this question is that if we were writing TITANIC, we should clearly choose either Jack or Rose as the main character and run with that choice. Not being clear is not an option when you’re trying to launch your career.
As you can see from all I’ve written, I’m wide open to thinking and rethinking about this question, so…what do YOU think?
I must say – WOW and THANKS for this BIG answer. Now I really understand what you mean and yes I can agree, and most of all make me think again
Many thanks, a million of them.
Perhaps this may be amiss, but how do we analyze Titanic given that the present-day story deals with the expedition ship and the entire story of Rose and Jack and the Titanic is told in flashback? The only character to show up in both is Rose – (at least in real time, and not by virtue of memory). Additionally, it almost seems as if Titanic flashback story was Rose’s B-Story, or the vehicle which impacts her to do what she does at the end of the film. I think one reason why Titanic has been so powerful a film for me is because the events of both past and present seem to work together somehow to produce the carthasis moment of when Rose, at the film’s end – throws the necklace overboard. Man, that one had me gripping the seat, and the tears were flowing. That, to me, was one of the most powerful moments I can think of in cinema. It’s like everything that led up to that was a vehicle, in some way, to achieve that moment. Of course, I have not really answered the question.
The present day scenes are really just a framing device for the film. The movie would probably have done just as well if it was all set in 1912.
I’ve gone back and forth on this one, too…for years, but there’s really only one answer and that’s that there are two genres being combined in Titanic. There’s a disaster film aspect, and Rose is the main character there, she saves Jack who’s handcuffed below decks as the ship sinks. And then there’s the love story, where Jack is the main character, he saves Rose, twice as it turns out. I think that’s why the film is so tricky from this point of view, it’s a mixed genre…two stories, actually. Three if you throw in the wrap around modern day story.
Rose is the main Character in the movie but in her narration jack is the main character. so that makes them both main character in different perspective.
Elegant answer!
[...] is to see who changes the most from the beginning of the film to the end (check out the article “Who’s the Main Character in Titanic.”) In STAR TREK, the character who changes the most from FADE IN to FADE OUT is Spock. hand [...]
Titanic is a disaster movie, but it is also a romantic fairy tale about ROSE breaking free from the family-related curse (her forced marriage). As such, Rose is the protagonist. Jack is the ANTAGONIST, the one who causes Rose to change. Cal is the villain, not to be confused with the antagonist. The decision to break free belongs to Rose. However, as a romance, Jack is the other romantic lead, and is given a great character arc too, one that helps completes Rose’s journey. If Jack had lived, she would have followed Jack as she was following Cal, so his sacrificial death allows her to break free from the romantic misconception that she’s only complete with a man. So, she gets to have her full life, and reunite with Jack at the end. Great storytelling.
Hi,
It sounds strange but I think “the titanic” is the main character.
It sounds strange but if we look at it from a theoretical point of view:
The good guy vs the bad guy : The titanic vs the icebergs.
The main character who changed the most from the start of the film until the end: Titanic. She started out as the mighty and powerful destroyable ship and at the end she “died”.